Quote:
Originally Posted by DanaC
I hear what you're saying. But this sort of thing is rarely as simple as it appears at first glance.
For example: a lot of those unskilled jobs are done by people from eastern Europe because they are not eligible to claim benefits. Now, you could say that this is an argument for removing benefits from Uk citizens in order to force them to take these jobs on. But...the wages paid for a lot of these jobs are so terribly low that the only reason anybody would take them is out of sheer desperation. The reason employers are able to pay such low wages is because there is a pool of very desperate people.
To me it seems wrong to force people into work that is deeply exploitative. Nobody in this country in this century should have to work for wages that wouldn't be out of place in the third world.
I am currently looking for a part time job to help get through the final year of my phd. Some of the jobs I have seen advertised are terribly badly paid. In particular the wages that young people are expected to work for are appalling. 'Apprentice telesales' at £2 an hour.
The problem isn't that we are a nation of workshy layabouts, it's that we have very little protection for workers. The weight of power is entirely towards the employers. They have no need to offer better wages, because there is always somebody desperate enough that they will work for peanuts. All we do by reducing benefits and making it harder to claim is increase that pool of desperate people and increase the number of employers offering appalling wages. There is no incentive for employers to increase the amount they pay.
Eventhe 'minimum wage' is ridiculously insufficient. Which is why large numbers of people who are in work also have to claim benefits. It's a ridiculous situation that leads to the state effectively subsidising the cost of employing workers.
|
complete and utter nonsense. how on earth do you figure the weight of power is all with the employer? theres 1000s of laws protecting workers, employers take all of the risks, financially, spirtitually, in terms of their lives and their health and their families when they invest in a business and create jobs...without these risk takking entrepreneurs we would have no real jobs, no opportunities and no wealth....there is virtually no support for small business at all in the UK....they have to ride by the seat of their pants for the first 5 years of any company they start and there is zero fincancial support from banks at all now....small busineses even with awesome credit ratings get no financial loans at all....why ? 2 reasons....the banks went bust because 1) deregulation on wall street/city of London/property/banking 2) the greed and irresponsibility of those individuals who overspent on credit for years without a thought of how to pay for it
who suffers? the working people and the risk taking small business owners
there is no risk at all for people who have children and don't work.....clearly they get everything free and get an income that can run to £36,000 tax free+